F-SP Rotary Inducts New Officers
Submitted by Maria LaMorte-Wright
On Wednesday, June 7, 2023, Al Smith was inducted for his second term as President of the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Club (F-SP Rotary) for the 2023-2024 Rotary year. The other new officers include Susan Pastir ( President-Elect), Curt Brand (Secretary) and Don Rosenberg (Treasurer). Officers and board members were sworn in by Past District Governor Ann Walko. Walko received a Paul Harris award for her dedicated service to the Rotary club, the local community and the Rotary district. She was also recently honored with the Good Scout Award from the Patriots Path Council Boy Scouts of America. District Governor Designate Jeannie Tsukomoto presented President Al Smith with a Paul Harris award for his contributions to the Rotary Foundation and Maria LaMorte-Wright was honored to receive the Fred Chemidlin Service Above Self Award.
Al Smith spoke about the Rotary club’s accomplishments over the past year and plans for the new Rotary year. He will continue to focus on revitalizing the club, increasing diversity and spreading awareness about Rotary to the local community. Smith noted he is very excited to continue to lead the Rotary Club for another year, and has already introduced some changes to revitalize the club, including offering a new meeting structure. The first three meetings of the month will be held at 12:15 p.m. The first meeting is virtual and the following two are in- person at the Stage House in Scotch Plains. The fourth meeting of the month is held at 6:30 p.m. at Darby Road. Members are not required to attend meetings but are asked to volunteer and provide service to the community, per the Rotary motto “Service Above Self”.
The F-SP Rotary Club contributes to the community by bringing service projects to life. They are currently focused on mental health, food insecurity, health and wellness. Annually, many volunteer hours are served by Rotary members, including support for food banks, distributing dictionaries to all third graders in the F-SP school district, holiday toy collections, luminary sales, the restoration of the historic Frazee House, supporting at-risk girls in Uganda, and contributing to dialysis machines in India. The Rotary club also supports local youth through the annual distribution of over $50,000 in scholarships. This year they celebrated their 85thAnniversary and received resolutions from the Borough of Fanwood and the Township of Scotch Plains, for their service to the community.
The Rotary International Presidential theme for 2023-34 is “Create Hope in the World”. The F-SP Rotary Club invites people to join them in making a difference in the community and in the world. For more information, visit the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Facebook page or the website at fsprotary.org. Or contact President Al Smith at president@fsprotary.org.
